Effect of Green Prosopis juliflora Pods and Noug Seed ( Guizotia obissynica) Cake Supplementation on Digestibility and Performance of Blackhead Ogaden Sheep Fed Hay as a Basal Diet

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementation of ground Prosopis juliflora pods (PJP), noug seed cake (NSC) proportions on feed intake, digestibility, and average daily body weight gain (ADG), feed conversion efficiency (FCE), carcass parameters and economic feasibility Ogaden sheep. Twenty five yearling male sheep with initial BW of 13.82±0.52 kg were blocked in to five blocks based on initial BW and randomly assigned to treatments. Treatments were supplementation of 300 g DM /day of PJP and NSC at proportio 100, 75, 50, 25, 0% PJP and 0, 25, 50, 75, 100% NSC for T1 2), T3 (Treatment 3), T4 (Treatment 4) and T5 feeding trials lasted for 7 and 80 days, respectively followed by car content was 6.2%, 15.5%, and 29.1% and NDF content was 80.9%, 46.7% and 41.3% for hay, PJP and NSC, respectively. Hay and total DM intakes were higher T5 than in T1 which was similar to T3 and T2. Intake of CP increas of supplemental NSC. Treatment did not impact CP digestibility coefficient was low for T1 than T2, T3 and T5 ((p<0.05) CP digestibility as compared to the other trea greater (P<0.05) ADG but T1, T4 and T5 were similar. FCE was in the order of T3 = T2 > T1 = T4 = T5 (p<0.05). Hot carcass weight (HCW) and rib greater for T2 than T1. Based on the biological combination of the two supplements in equal proportions was recommended.